


French for Car Port

by angellwings



Series: Who Needs Google? [2]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Family, Flirting, Friendship, Love, Post Episode s02e03 And What Lies Beneath the Stones, Pre Episode s02e04 And the Cost of Education, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 02:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5229686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellwings/pseuds/angellwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jacob and Cassie finally have their talk that was promised just before they set out to stop Prospero. The chaos has finally calmed (some) and given them an opportunity. Sequel to "Faster than The Internet." Set in between episode 3 and episode 4!</p>
            </blockquote>





	French for Car Port

**Author's Note:**

> So, Christian Kane wore the white cuff in And the Cost of Education. And since in my head Cassie gave Jacob that cuff I decided I needed to write their talk and why he decided to wear that cuff on that particular day. Enjoy!

They never got the chance to talk. They came close. The conversation was leading that way, but they would always get interrupted. Having all of them back together again, even in a place as big as the Library, lent itself to unwelcome interruptions. And then the Clippings Book led them to Oklahoma. In the chaos of that case their impending talk had been forgotten. Both of them spent a little time apart after that to think things through. He’d also needed to put the finishing touches on his article and do a bit of proofreading before submitting the final draft. Finishing that had taken him two days after the case. There had also been plenty of time while he was working to think about his own choices and the things Cassandra had chosen to reveal about hers. They’d learned a lot about each other on that case for sure. More than they’d really been prepared to learn. It was a lot to take in.

It didn’t change anything, not for him and he didn’t think for her either, but it was still something a person had to adjust to. More than a few things she’d said had a greater impact on him than she probably realized. It wasn’t his place, he knew, to say anything about them and he had no right to try and change her mind. But still the knowledge of their existence had taken root and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be going away anytime soon. To be honest, he felt it raised the stakes for both of them when it came to anything they might pursue together.

He’d just finished submitting his article, after two days of polishing and perfecting it, when he heard familiar footfalls in the stacks behind him. Light and bouncy. Definitely Cassandra. He turned to find her shelving a few books, on subjects he’d probably never understand if he tried, and just watched her for a moment. He didn’t know if she even knew he was there. He’d been quiet, she may not have noticed. Three months working apart left him appreciating stupid small things like watching her put away books or scribble in her notebook or even just watching her tuck a soft red wave of hair behind her ear. It was pathetic and mushy and completely hopeless. He knew all of these things but what could he do about? Nothing really. Nothing at all.

She put away the last book and then suddenly turned and directly met his gaze.  He grinned bashfully and winced as she giggled and walked toward him.

“I caught you,” she said with a bright smile as she sat down next to him.

He nodded reluctantly. “You did.”

She bit her bottom lip and then gave him a small shrug. “That’s okay, I do it too.”

He nodded again and smirked at her. “I know.”

She glared at him playfully. “Oh you do?”

He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “I told you, Cassie. I pay attention.”

She rolled her eyes at him and grinned. “So you pay attention to me paying attention to _you_?”

His brow furrowed for a moment and then he thoughtfully answered her. “Um, yes?”

She laughed merrily at him and then shook her head. He laughed with her as he sat up and leaned into her space just a little. Being near her again was just a bit intoxicating sometimes.

“So, what are you doing here so late?” He asked her.

She shrugged modestly. “A bit of reading.”

“About what?” He asked curiously.

“A few books on the theoretical math behind extradimensional spaces.”

She said it so casually that he couldn’t help but blink at her with a bit of dumbstruck awe. He didn’t even know what that meant. He doubted he could understand anything written about it. “Ah, okay.”

“Yeah, that’s me when you talk about Dutch-Colonial architecture,” she said with a coy smile. They shared a smile and a lingering glance for a long moment before she continued. “What are _you_ still doing here?”

“Just submitted my article,” he told her as he motioned to his now closed laptop.

“Oh,” she said with a nod.

“As Dr. Jacob Stone,” He told her as he watched her carefully for her response.

Her eyes widened and she beamed at him for a quick moment she took a deep breath and attempted to compose herself. “Really?” she asked with a cool he could tell she didn’t feel.

He nodded and watched her with amused eyes. “Thought it was time that I give being myself a try. You know?”

She smiled warmly at him before she answered. “I do.” She paused for a moment and then spoke again. “That’s a big moment for you.”

“It is,” he admitted. “I feel…surprisingly good about it.”

“You should, Jacob,” she told him as she met his eyes with a meaningful glance. “You should be proud of what you know. I know I’m proud of you. Your knowledge is beautiful.”

He’d been slowly leaning closer to her since she beamed at him so brightly earlier. Her smile was always like the sun to him. It pulled him closer without him even having to think about it. The admission that she was proud of him caused some emotion he couldn’t identify to swell in his chest. He couldn’t name it, but it was definitely a good thing. A very good thing. All the other times they’d been interrupted came to mind as he continued to lean toward her and he stopped for a moment.

“Is anybody else here?” He asked her.

She blinked at him a few times and that’s when he realized she’d been watching him lean toward her in a bit of daze. She shook herself a little bit and looked thoughtful before she answered. “Um, Jones went home ages ago. Well, let’s be honest, he probably went _out_ not home.” She rolled her eyes and Jacob tried not to chuckle at her. “Baird is somewhere in The Library trying to find our equipment from The Annex and Jenkins has locked himself in his lab for a bit of peace and quiet. I think he’s still getting used to having all of us here at one time again.”

“So, they’re all either gone or busy, right?” He asked as his eyes drifted from her blue eyes to her lips.

“Yes,” she said as she gave him a small flirtatious smile and a knowing glance.

“Perfect,” he said before he took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. She made a surprised sound as he lips met hers and then giggled against his mouth and brought her arms up and around his neck.

His hands moved to her waist to pull her closer and she ended up sitting on his lap. He moved one hand up to the side of her face and gently ran his thumb across her cheek as they continued to kiss. One kiss was not enough for either of them because they couldn’t seem to stop. Not that he was complaining. He moved his hand back from her cheek and into her hair. It was just as soft as her skin and the disbelief of what was actually happening hit him. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about kissing her since that moment in Jenkins’s lab. He had. A lot. The funny thing about this, though, was that reality was better than anything he could have imagined. The taste and the textures and her enthusiastic response was more than he ever thought it could be. And the way everything about her seemed to fit against him was nearly too perfect. Why had it taken them so long to do this?

They finally separated and Cassandra rested her forehead against his and smiled brightly at him. “So, are we doing this in lieu of talking, Jacob?”

He laughed and then shrugged slightly. “Not a bad idea, actually.”

She glared at him playfully and then lightly pinched his arm.

“Ow,” he said with a chuckle and wince as he twisted his arm away from her. He smiled warmly in response to her glare and then said, “Look, I…I like you, Cassie. I always have. Fought myself on it a lot, but now…now I’d like to see where this goes. I wanna know what this is between us.”

Her eyes met his and they were full of warmth and affection. She nodded her agreement before she spoke. “I’ve been trying something new these past few months,” she told him.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Taking control of my life and my choices,” she said honestly.  “And actually pursuing what _I_ want.”

He gently brushed her hair off of her shoulders and nodded as he met her steady gaze. “That’s a good thing,” he told her with an encouraging smile. “It’s…brave.”

 Her serious expression faded into soft appreciative smile as she stared at him thoughtfully. Finally, after a moment of comfortable silence she spoke. “And _this_ \--” she paused and motioned between them and then left her hand resting on his shoulder. “--is definitely something I want.”

“That’s a relief,” he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes at him with a smile. He moved his hand from her waist to take one of her hands in his. He held her hand in his and studied it for a quiet comfortable moment. Neither of them really wanted to move. They were pretty cozy just the way they were.

“We should have dinner,” Jacob said thoughtfully.

“Now?” Cassandra asked with a furrowed brow.

He chuckled at her. “No, not now. It’s a little late for dinner. Unless, you’d like to eat at Waffle House on our first date.”

She giggled and shrugged. “I like waffles.”

“Yeah, but I’m thinking we might want something a bit more romantic,” he said with an amused grin.

“You would,” she said knowingly as she used her free hand to absently play with the collar of his shirt.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked her as he playfully poked her side.

She smirked at him and squirmed away from his hand. “You’re a hopeless romantic, Jacob Stone. You know that.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with a little romance, darlin’,” Jacob said with a chuckle.

“Definitely not,” she agreed with a flirtatious smile.

“Alright,” he said with a nod. “Tomorrow night. Just you and me. Sound good?”

She nodded. “Sounds perfect.”

* * *

 

The next night they went on their date and it went about as smoothly as he’d hoped. But then with Cassandra as company that wasn’t difficult. Conversation was easy and warm and he’d been more relaxed with her than with any other woman he’d dated. They’d shut down the restaurant and stayed a bit too late passed closing, but neither really wanted to leave. It was nice being out with someone who actually knew you. They’d decided to walk around Portland for a while after dinner and it amazed him how quickly they’d adapted to touching. Of course, he could probably pinpoint the start of it back to her hug before they unleashed that sun. Since then it had been getting gradually easier for him to not even think about a casual touch or two. And then after the kiss the other night? Well, that was the end of any restraint he may have had.

It seemed normal now to reach for her hand while they walked or put an arm around her waist and pull her toward him. He was starting to get a little too addicted to it. He could tell it wasn’t just him. She was initiating it just as much as he was. They tried to keep it professional while working with the others. Luckily, right now though they didn’t have a case. They were working on taking an inventory of the Library and monitoring the Clippings Book for wild magic. Typically they were the only two working on those tasks. Jones was busy with the security system, Jenkins and Baird were busy keeping track of where different rooms appeared and disappeared from. They seemed to have a new map of the Library every day.

So that left the two of them to take inventory. On their own. In secluded corners of the Library.  In just the two days since their first date they’d found themselves more than a little distracted on several occasions. But his favorite moments over the last few days were the moments where they worked comfortably side by side. Like equals and partners who respected and understood each other better than most. He’d never had that and he valued it above everything else he and Cassandra shared.

They were sitting side by side in the Library, taking inventory of the books in the Occult section of the Library. Inventory was getting more and more difficult as things kept moving or getting mixed together but for the moment the Library was keeping these books in one place. At some point they’d gotten distracted and started reading. Cassandra had been interested in understanding magic since day one. He knew that, but until recently he’d never thought about understanding why or how it worked. Before they’d all split up, it was simply something to contain. But the events of recent weeks had left him wondering exactly what magic could do and how certain things could be done. It was also helpful that some of these books explored the history of it. _That_ was a topic that interested him.

Before either of them knew it they were each engrossed in a book. His feet were propped up in another chair as he leaned back with the book on his lap and his arm slung across the back of Cassie’s chair. She was slumped down in the chair with her head resting on his arm as she propped her book against the edge of the table and read with eager eyes. He would glance over at her every so often and each time he found her anxiously chewing on her thumbnail while she read.

“What are you reading?” He finally asked.

She angled her face in his general direction but her eyes never left the page in front of her. “Magic Symbology,” she answered. “It caught my attention with the pentagram. Remember the Faraday cage at the school?”

He smiled wistfully at her and nodded. “Hard to forget.”

“Well, turns out there’s a whole language of magical symbols. Their forms are actually very mathematical in essence. It’s very interesting.” She finally tore her eyes away to look at him and motioned to his book. “What are you reading?”

He tilted the cover toward her. “18th Century Occult Spiritualism.”

He scanned the rest of the page and then stopped and grinned at her. “Well, what do ya know, there’s a section on Magic Symbology being incorporated into architecture.”

Her eyes widened and she set down her book to lean over and look at his. “Really? Oh!” she said as she pointed to an illustrated example. “A summoning circle! Can we, um, switch for a moment?” she asked hesitantly.

He chuckled and nodded. “Sure, darlin’, hand me yours.”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek quickly before handing him her book on Magic Symbology. “You’re the best, Jacob Stone.”

He smiled bashfully at her and then rubbed the back of his neck before he looked through her book on Magical Symbology. It was actually interesting. She was right it was like a language and a little bit like art too. Each symbol was had different nuances in design and meaning. It was easy to get engrossed in that too.

“Jacob?” Cassandra asked as she read. “What’s a porte-cochere?”

“It’s, um, like a car port,” he said simply. “It’s a covered area outside of a building entrance that’s large enough for a carriage or a car to drop off visitors and allow them to enter buildings without being exposed to the weather.”

“Ah, got it, thanks.”

He glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked before he spoke. “You, uh, could’ve looked that up on your own.”

She stopped reading and grinned in recognition before she turned to face him with a flirtatious smile and a shrug. “You’re faster than the Internet, you know that.”

He chuckled at her and set the book aside before he leaned and placed a slow kiss on her lips. She set her book aside too and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. The kissed deepened and continued for another moment before they heard footsteps in the distance and broke apart.

“I’m so glad you took the bait on that one,” Jacob whispered to her as he dropped a kiss on her temple and then went back to his book.

She giggled at him as she returned to her reading as well.

It was a good thing they separated because a few minutes later Baird found them and informed them it was officially quitting time. She’d started enforcing a “work curfew” on them since she’d been back. She’d given them a speech about wanting to them to stay mentally and physically healthy and not wanting them to end up “socially awkward recluses who couldn’t seem to play well with others.” They all pretended not to know who she was talking about.

They said goodnight at her door after he took her home, though it probably took longer than strictly necessary. Really though, was it expected to be quick when he was faced with those blue eyes of hers?

The next morning, as he was getting ready, he spotted the white cuff she’d given him during their three months apart on his dresser. He smiled at the memory and his initial worry that she’d give him a gift as quirky as she was. He picked it up with a fond smile and snapped it around his wrist. His smile grew when he remember the feeling of her delicate hands helping him put it on in Jenkins’s lab after he’d hurt his hand. The way he’d been drawn to her like he always was but with a stronger pull than before. That hiatus had changed things between them. For the better, for sure. He ran his other hand over the leather and thought about her face when she noticed he had it with him. Her beautiful soft smile when she recognized the cuff. He wondered if she’d react that way every time he wore it?

He smirked to himself as he grabbed his keys and left his apartment.

Only one way to find out, he thought.


End file.
